The decision of selecting a web host is really difficult, especially when you are new in this field. You can see, every hosting company promises to provide 99% uptime, unlimited resources, technical support, etc. which creates havoc in your mind. In this, you might get confused and fail to make the right choice.
Thus, in this guide, we will mention some factors, that you need to consider while finding the right web host for your website. First of all, make sure that you know your business well. That means you should be aware of the size of the website, the number of pages it might contain, etc. Then, find the hosting partner accordingly. This is because, every website is unique and has different hosting requirements, like shared hosting, dedicated hosting, VPS hosting, WordPress hosting etc. that need to be fulfilled by the provider.
Factors to Check Are:
1) Price
When you see the same features are provided by some hosting companies, then you need to check out their prices. When you see the huge price differences, you must check out their services too. Finalizing the cheapest option is not always a solution. With the price, you must also check out other parameters like non-outsourced support and the quality of hardware used.
2) Uptime
The company may promise you to provide high uptime. But, in this case, ask them their average uptime. Anything below 99.9% should not be accepted. Uptime decides the percentage of time that your website works on the internet, and you are not sure about the visitor’s timing. So, it is better to get at least 99.9% uptime. Here, you also need to remember that some providers tempt you by claiming to provide 100% uptime. Which is practically not possible. So, stay away from such web hosts, and rather go for the genuine one.
3) Renewal Policy
Always, check the policy of web hosting plans. Mostly, people buy hosting on a monthly or yearly basis. As the providers offer some plans at cheap rates, people tend to buy them. But, when the time comes to renew the plan, then the cost of the plan increases drastically. That means it may cost far more than what you have to spend to buy it for the first time. This is a common trick used by many hosting providers. The same is with resources and other features offered. So, one must always read the renewal policy of web hosts.
4) Features
Most of the companies provide basic features. But, apart from that, you must check whether the essential features are offered.
Some of the features are:
(i) SSL Certificate
If you have to pay extra for an SSL certificate, then the web host might not be a good choice for you. Instead go for the providers like MilesWeb, which offers free SSL certificates with their hosting plans. This certificate ensures that your website data remains in encrypted form and is secured from hackers. Also, the SSL certificate helps the website to grow organically on the search results of every search engine.
(ii) .htaccess File Access
In case you wish to make administrative changes on-site, you will need access to the .htaccess file. It allows you to edit and modify of parameters including password authentication and management.
(iii) Free Migration
Migration of a website needs careful handling. There is a high possibility of downtime or data loss when the website gets migrated from one server to another. So, we do not suggest performing migration on your own, if you don’t have the proper knowledge. In such a case, look out for the host that provides a free migration process. As they have experts who can take care of your website, migration should be done by them.
5) Testimonials
The best way to know about any web hosting provider is to find out what their customers say. As the customers are already using or ex-customers had already used their services, then they can tell you more about the company. Read what people say about the providers and try to find out how it could possibly affect your site. There are some hosting review sites available like hostadvice.com or hostreview.in, that provide unbiased reviews of the providers. You can check and compare different hosting companies on these sites too.
6) Support
Support is the most important feature of a web hosting provider. As the website needs to work throughout its time period, then the hosting provider should also work for your website. Any miss-happening to the website or issues can arise at any point of time, so in such case, you need expert help. To overcome any such situation, choose for the 24/7 technical support provider.
7) Money Back Guarantee
Always play safe. First, buy the service on a trial basis, use it and then finalize it. For this, always go for a minimum of 30 days money-back guarantee, so that if anything goes wrong within this time frame, you can ask for the refund and move on to a different provider.
Conclusion –
These are certain parameters that you need to consider while finalizing the hosting provider. Still, if you have any queries, try to directly talk to the customer service executives of your favorite hosting provider. Seek help from them, and they can solve your issues.